


Shall we Dance?

by neverthelessthesun



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: After Avengers 1 they all just move in together and have no more problems ever again yay, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Ballroom Dancing, Canon is a rejected movie script in this timeline, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, F/M, Fem!Tony, Flirting, Insecure Steve Rogers, Insecure Tony Stark, Inspired by Fanart, Mutual Pining, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Slow Dancing, pre-Steve/Tony - Freeform, what do you mean that's not what happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 02:28:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15547593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neverthelessthesun/pseuds/neverthelessthesun
Summary: Toni is bored at the gala, and she wants to dance. Natasha is one of the only people who can keep up with Toni, so they dance. But Natasha has some interesting thoughts on how the team (and specific members of the team) see Toni. There's no way Steve would have a crush on her, is there?





	Shall we Dance?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, and thanks for clicking!
> 
> I spent about an hour scrolling through [hello-shellhead's art tag](http://hello-shellhead.tumblr.com/tagged/art) today, and they have inspired me to write Fem!Tony. The largest inspiration was [this glorious piece](http://hello-shellhead.tumblr.com/post/151251727331/natasha-and-natasha), which also features Natasha Romanoff. 
> 
> This has been beta'd by the lovely [athletiger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/athletiger). All mistakes are mine.
> 
> Enjoy!

Toni felt like dancing. 

It was the annual fundraiser gala for the Maria Stark Foundation, and this year, all the Avengers were invited along, so Toni had managed to convince Pepper that she didn’t need to have a date. 

“You’re not making anyone else take a date!” she had pointed out, splaying her hand over the Avengers’ names on the guest list. “Even Steve gets to go stag!”

“That’s because Steve is Captain America,” Pepper had pointed out primly, but in the end she had conceded Toni’s point. No plus-one was required for any other guest, so one would not be required of Toni. 

Before Afghanistan, Toni would have jumped at the chance to display some arm candy at one of these things. The models and sports stars were good fun, after all, and at a stuffy party like this, Toni would have killed for someone fun. But that was before.

Now, in the midst of running a Fortune 500 company better than a man ever could, flying around the country (and occasionally the world) in a giant metal suit, and housing the greatest superheroes of all time in her skyscraper, Toni had enough on her plate to keep her life interesting. She would have been bored with her usual date. 

So far, the conversation had been just as dull as if some idiot retired linebacker had been following her around, anyway, so Toni didn’t really feel like she’d dodged a bullet by coming solo. If anything, she wanted someone who she knew could move, someone who could keep up with her on the dance floor. 

She eyed the gala participants warily, unsure that any of them could meet that standard. But standing next to Clint in a dusty plum over-the-shoulder number was Natasha Romanoff. She was dressed to blend in tonight, not calling attention to herself, but compared to Clint’s rented tux, she looked unbelievably polished. Toni thought it over for a moment, shrugged, and rounded the punch table toward them.

“Dance with me?” Toni asked, holding out a hand in a way that insinuated she wasn’t asking. 

“I, uh—” Clint stuttered, lost for a moment before Natasha stepped in and took Toni’s offered hand. 

“I’d love to.”

They spun out onto the floor, and Toni was right–Natasha danced effortlessly. Toni lead, of course, being the one that asked, and Natasha accepted this so smoothly it didn’t even seem like they had communicated it to each other. 

A few people stared, but Toni had enough of a reputation that no one was really that surprised. A few cameras snapped, but Toni and Natasha ignored them. The press already thought she was sleeping with every male Avenger--might as well round out the set.

“Did you secure the Anderson donation you were worried about?” Natasha asked casually. 

“Sure did,” Toni replied. “That old man isn’t much of a bleeding heart, but lay out the numbers for him and he gets with the picture pretty quick. Really, Pepper did most of the talking. I just stood there and looked pretty.”

Natasha thinned her lips into an approving smile. “And you made doe eyes at his son the whole time. He knows a good donation tonight means a better chance of you giving–what’s the kid’s name? Harold? A chance.”

Toni shook her head. “I would feel bad for the boy if he wasn’t queer as a three dollar bill. I haven’t strung anybody along since college.”

Natasha hummed skeptically.

“What?” Toni glared at her.

“It’s just that I don’t believe that Natasha Antonia Stark is the kind of woman who doesn’t leave a string of broken hearts behind her,” Natasha said, allowing Toni to spin her out in a flashy move. When she came in close again, she murmured, “I based some of the characteristics for my Trisha Richards alias off your public persona, you know. You should feel flattered.”

Toni chuckled. “I am, I suppose. And sure, I have fans everywhere. A few are bound to get too attached. But broken hearts? I hope not.”

“You underestimate yourself,” Natasha disagreed. “You’re charismatic, you flirt as often as you speak, you are wildly intelligent, and you know how to use those traits to your advantage. I’m surprised you don’t get more fan mail than you do.”

Toni hid a wince at the memory of the piles and piles of fan letters she did get, and remembered what percentage of them were marriage proposals. “Alright, so maybe you’re not wrong–”

“–I’m positive even some of the team has crushes on you,” Natasha cut her off.

“The team?” Toni spluttered. “No way.”

“Thor called you a ‘maiden of great power, beauty, and intelligence to rival my chosen Jane’ the other day. If a man’s comparing you to his long-term girlfriend, he’s got a bit of a crush.”

“But the team sees all my bad sides!” Toni argued. “They know I’m selfish, self-absorbed, foolish, rude–”

“Toni. Think about it. It makes sense.”

“Not me. You, maybe, you’re so skilled even Steve gets wide eyes when he sees you in the gym. I’m nothing, I’m just–”

“–The woman who fixes everyone’s gear? The provider of their home? What about that is selfish or self absorbed?”

“I threw a bowl of ice cream at Bruce last week!”

“And he went and got you another one. Toni, even putting aside the work we do in the field, it’s pretty clear that any of them would do a lot for you. All I’m saying is, don’t take it for granted.”

The song they were waltzing to drew to a close, and Toni stood spellbound by this revelation. She tried to wrap her head around it, but it just didn’t compute. 

“Ah, Clint owes me ten bucks,” Natasha smiled. “Here comes the worst offender. And after only one song. I’m getting good.” Then she backed up, making eye contact with someone behind Toni.

Toni turned. There was Steve, all decked out in his Army uniform, looking sharper than ever. There were spots of color high on his cheeks, and he was fiddling with the hem of his jacket, but he stood tall and met her eyes. 

“Natasha, Toni,” he greeted. “Mind if I cut in?”

“Who do you want?” Toni asked boldly. The bulk of her brain was still puzzling over Natasha’s words, so she forgot to be polite. It was fine, though, it was just Steve.

“Er, I’d like to dance with you, if that’s okay?” Steve’s eyes were trained on Toni.

“Sure,” Toni agreed, because even if he ended up being a terrible dancer, Toni wasn’t a good enough person not to jump at the chance to be held in the arms of her childhood crush. And kind-of adult crush. 

Natasha faded into the crowd before the next song began, and suddenly Toni was following Steve in a rigid two-step, his warm palm carefully placed on the fabric-covered part of her back. She had worn the backless red dress to entice, and here Steve was, doing his level best to ignore it. She internally sighed again, knowing her case was hopeless. 

“Enjoying the party, Spangles?” she asked, allowing him to set the pace of their dance. He was not as experienced as Natasha by a long shot, but he carried himself well and stuck to the rhythm--perhaps a little too tightly for Toni’s style.

“It’s a swell bash,” Steve responded, letting a little of his stage voice leak in. “Miss Stark, you’ve really outdone yourself.”

Toni managed to slip an elbow into his ribs, and covered his “oof” of surprise with a small laugh. “My galas have a standard to uphold. I try to do better every year.”

“It shows.”

“But, really, Steve, you doing okay?” Toni pried. “I know this isn’t your first choice on a Saturday night.”

“I really am having a good time,” Steve assured her. “You catered those pickle sandwiches I like. Plus, Clint’s been sticking the toothpicks in random people’s hair all evening. It’s prime entertainment.”

This sent them both chuckling, swaying more than spinning anymore, and ignoring the rest of the dancers.

“Clint is always a good time at things like this. I’m glad I convinced Pepper not to seat him at the kiddie table.”

“We’ll see how well it goes when he switches from toothpicks to actual chunks of food,” Steve suggested with a grin. 

They chatted and dance through the rest of the song, and it was the most fun Toni had had all night, despite Natasha being the better dancer. Once the song finished, Steve didn’t let go of her hand. 

“Can we dance again?” he asked, and the blush was back on his cheeks. 

“Of course, darling,” Toni smiled, batting her lashes. “You just tell me when you’re sick of me.”

The pink in Steve’s cheeks spread down his neck, and he murmured breathlessly, “I don’t think I’ll ever be sick of you.”

Toni grinned and grabbed his other hand again, placing it on the bare skin of her back. “You say that now,” she said coyly, “but I could dance all night with a guy like you. You sure you won’t get tired of little old me?”

Steve swallowed and began to dance again. “Only one way to find out,” he replied. 

Toni thought about what Natasha said, and compared it to Steve’s behavior. Then she shrugged the thought away. There was no way Steve would ever be serious about her–some light flirting wouldn’t change that. She would just enjoy this one night and everything would be normal in the morning. 

Right?

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love!
> 
> Find me on dreamwidth [here](https://neverthelessthesun.dreamwidth.org/)!


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